Chapter 38: The orphans
Ed made it his priority to explore the food stalls; he had become obsessed with good food ever since he started cooking. His appetite increased as well since he broke through to King establishment.
The capital was much more vibrant compared to the other cities Ed had visited; it had more people in it and was built better. The roads were cleaner and safer for carriages to move on; people were dressed well even though most of them were commoners.
Ed took a look at the palace which looked domineering; it was bigger than the palace of the Avalon kingdom. Ed looked at its walls and guessed they were enhanced in case of an attack. After sightseeing for a while, it was time for lunch so Ed got back to his food exploration. He visited every food-related shop he could see and ate all the best dishes they had, any passerby would keep staring at him for a full minute before moving away, because of the amount of food he had. But it was more of the reason that he always had a slime with him that also kept eating everything.
Any of the dishes that satisfied Ed were taken with him for Raikou, he made sure to get seconds for him since he wouldn't have the time to eat lunch. Ed felt sorry for him, but Raikou was understanding of the circumstances.
After a while, Ed was finally satisfied with his food journey. 'As expected of the capital, there are so many dishes that I would like to remake on my own' Ed had gotten some new recipes from some shop owners that were kind enough to allow him to copy it. Ed had wanted to pay them for it but most of them just gave it away.
Ed continued walking for a while and started to notice that people were getting scarcer as he walked, a couple of minutes later he found himself in a dirty looking area whose people looked like they came from a war zone. 'This must be the slums' Ed knew that every country couldn't perfectly support their citizens, however, he was still always shocked about the conditions of the slums. Even in his previous world, homeless people still existed.
While walking Ed noticed a girl coming towards him, she looked like she hadn't eaten for quite some time.
"Sir, can you please give me some money to eat?" The girl saw that Ed was dressed nicely so she guessed he would be rich. Ed felt sorry for the little girl and took out some of the food he bought and gave it to her. "Do you like the magic trick?" Ed had brought out the food out of thin air and made it sound like it was a magic trick. The girl nodded and smiled, and after receiving food, she ran away, as if she afraid Ed was going to take it back.
Ed was curious why she would do that so he followed while using the stealth effect from his Shadow Steps. After a while, the girl stopped and yelled. "Come out everyone!" Suddenly a group of five children of different ages came out and got close to her.
"I got you guys some food! Eat!" She brought out the sandwiches Ed had given her. Coincidently Ed had given her five.
The children were ecstatic and started eating; only one of the boys kept looking at his sandwich and then looked at the girl.
"What about you sister, where is yours?" The boy was apparently her brother and he was sharp. "I've already eaten mine so hurry up and eat!" The girl lied and encouraged the boy, he could do nothing but eat at this point.
Ed who was watching from afar decided to come out. The girl noticed him first and she was scared "Sir I didn't mean to take away the sandwiches for everyone please forgive" She had thought that he was mad she gave away the sandwiches he gave her.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you, those sandwiches are yours you're free to do whatever you want with them" The children had stopped eating after hearing the girl since they were scared but Ed reassured them. They continued eating and Ed went ahead to sit with the girl.
"What's your name?" Ed asked the girl.
"Eri"
"Pretty name" Ed praised the girl's name and continued "Why are you with these children?"
"We're all orphans. So we gathered up to help each other, although since I'm the oldest I'm the one who needs to work the hardest" Ed had guessed already the situation. This world was indeed a tough one.
The children had finished eating and were now playing with Suika. Raikou also came out from Ed's shadow which scared them but they soon gave up to their curiosity and played with his fur. Ed didn't mind the children seeing Raikou since they wouldn't know anything about him anyway.
Even Eri started playing with them. Soon Ed noticed it was about time to leave so he got up and called Eri over. "Take these" Ed brought out even more food and gave to her after putting it in a bag. "Try to finish it before it becomes spoiled, have this as well" Ed put 100 gold coins in a small pouch and gave it to her. That amount of money should last the group for a while if they only buy clothes.
Ed made sure to check his map to see if there was anyone around that could steal their money or food after he leaves but found no one. Eri didn't know if she should accept them or not but after remembering the children's smiles she accepted.
"I'll be back some other day with some gifts" The children didn't want him to leave at first since they were enjoying their time but Eri convinced them. They kept waving goodbye and then got back. Ed told Eri that if anyone tried to steal from them she should tell them that a noble is protecting them, not many people would be willing to offend a noble. This was the most he could do for the little group of orphans.
Ed got back to the inn after buying some more food and let Raikou eat in peace. The three of them entered the bath again and then got to sleep. Tomorrow Ed would be heading to the academy.
Author's Thoughts
Shigun
Hello everyone! I have a couple of announcements to make.
First, my exams are over yaaay( hopefully no make up exams).
second, there will be a mass release tomorrow when i wake up.
Lastly, although my exams are done, i will be sticking to releasing 2 chapters a day. I believe this will help me maintain a good quality of the novel while improving the story line, especially since i'm a one man team.
I hope you all understand what i'm trying to say and enjoy the chapter^^